The present invention relates to smart cars and, more particularly, to cars with an integrated advertising and shopping system. Though many cars today come equipped with systems to find gas stations, restaurants, and stores nearby, there is currently no system which allows for a general user to search for those locations and then simply tell their car to go there.
Currently, most search systems, even those integrated with cars, only allow searching for a location such as all Italian restaurants within a 5-mile radius. There is not however a vehicle equipped to handle a search request for a particular item, for example: “find all places which sell printers in a 5-mile radius.” This type of search particularity, applied to goods, services, food, housing, and entertainment is greatly lacking in smart cars today.
Additionally, cars can be equipped with advertising. Besides advertisements displayed on billboards and street signs, generally the only way to reach potential consumers in a vehicle is through radio. This therefore represents a substantially untapped market. Today's self-driving car technology is potentially being under-utilized because of the lack of the ability of advertisers to reach occupants of cars and have those occupants instruct their cars to self-drive to the advertiser's location.